Swimming appliance.



E. JASPER, JE- swmmme APPLIANCE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, 1911. 1,011,964, Patented Dec. 19, 1911 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W1 fnes ses: Q Jnvenior:

E. JASPER, JR. SWIMMING APPLIANCE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 30, 1911.

1,01 1,964.- Patented Dec. 19,1911

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

oLuMmA PLANOGRAPH C0,.WASH1NGTDN. n. c.

ENG-ELBERT JASPER, JR., 0F HAGEN, WESTPHALIA, GERMANY.

SWIMMING APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent:

Application filed June 30, 1911.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

Serial No. 636,231.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ENGELBERT JASPER, J r., a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, residing at Hagen, Westphalia, Germany, have invented a certainImproved Swimming Appliance, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a swimming appliance of the kindadapted to be attached to the foot and provided with hinged flaps whichopen out during the power stroke to act as fins.

The invention consists in the various details of construction andcombination of parts as hereinafter set forth and claimed, its mainpurpose being to provide a device which can be adjusted longitudinallyand transversely for differently sized feet.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is illustrated by way ofexample, F igure 1 representing a plan of the device with opened outflaps, Fig. 2, a cross-section, and Fig. 3, a side view of the same.Fig. 4: is a sectional front view of a modified construction, and Fig.5, a side view .of the same as applied to the foot.

The swimming appliance consists in the first place of a sole piece Awhich is composed of a toe-plate Z) and a heel-plate c having anoverlapping portion (Z. The overlapping portion of one plate has itslateral margins turned over so as to grip the edges of the other plate,and means are provided for connecting the plates in a more or lessoverlapping position, the length of the sole 7 piece being therebyadjusted. Both plates are fitted with two pairs of transversely arrangedsockets 0, each pair being adapted to receive the ends of an upturnedfork f havingits upper part formed into an eye 2'. The forks f serve asholders for the flaps B which are composed of frames 9 strengthened bytransverse wires h. The frames 9 are hingedly held in the eyes 2' of theforks f and are actuated by springs 0 which, abutting against the wiresh, tend to raise the flaps into the position shown dotted at B in Fig.2. The forks can be adjusted in the sockets e to accommodate feet ofvarious widths. The heel piece 0 is provided with a counter is tosupport the heel of the foot. On the back of said counter a lever Z ishingedly arranged which lever may be secured in two positions, one ofwhich is indicated by full and the other by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Toan eye m on the outer end of the lever Z cords n are connected, saidcords being carried from the lever, through guide-eyes t, to the outerends of the wires 71.. The arrangement is such that, when the lever Zhas the position shown in full in Fig. 3, the flaps are prevented by thecords n from turning upward beyond the position shown in full in Fig. 2.When the lever Z is turned down into the position shown clotted in Fig.3, the cords are slackened so as to allow the flaps to be turned by thesprings 0 into the position B of Fig. 2. The latter position of theelements enables the user to walk comfortably on the sole piece. Beforethe swimming commences, the lever Z is turned down so as to prevent, aspreviously noticed, the flaps from turning upward from the positionshown in full in Fig. 2. At the inward stroke of the legs, the flaps areturned down, in opposition to the springs o, by the action of the water,B in Fig. 2 being the middle and B the end position of the flaps. At theoutward stroke the flaps are opened out by the joint action of thesprings 0 and of the water so as to engage the water and make the strokemore effective. To maintain the cords at their proper tensioning andcompensate for the longitudinal and transverse adjustment of the device,wires h are adapted to be slid on the frames g.

A modified arrangement is shown in Figs. 4- and 5 where the cords n andthe lever Z are omitted. The flaps B are here'connected at right anglesto arms 39 and hinged by means of the same to plates f carried by theforks f at right angles to the sole piece. The hinge is arranged so thatthe opening out movement of the flaps is limited by the upper parts ofthe plates 7 as shown to the right of Fig. 4. At the inward stroke, theflaps turn as shown dotted in Fig.4, B being the middle and B the endposition. The length of the arms 39 is adjusted so that the flaps can beturned into overlapping position right ,down under the sole piece, asshown to the left in Fig. 4:, and secured there in any suitable manner.In this position of the flaps the device forms a kind of sandal on whichthe user can walk with ease. In both instances the device is connectedto the foot by a strap 9 carried across the toe-part and a strap 8carried from the counter is across the instep, the arrangement beingsuch that the foot can be inserted under the straps and thereupon thelatter tensioned simply by upsetting a spring-actuated tensioning leverin known manner.

I' claim 1. In a swimming appliance of the character described, a solepiece comprising two overlapping plates allowing the piece to belongitudinally adjusted, transversely arranged sockets connected to saidplates, upturned forks adjustably held with their ends in said sockets,flaps hinged to the forks, means for turning said flaps into a positionsuitable for walking, and means for limiting the opening-out movement ofthe flaps during the swimming.

2. In a swimming appliance, of the character' described, a sole pieceallowing of longitudinal adjustment, transversely arranged socketsconnected to said sole piece, forks adjustably held with their ends insaid sockets, plates carried by said forks at right angles to the solepiece, and flaps having rightangled arms and being hinged by means ofsaid arms to the plates, the hinges being located so that theopening-out movement of the flaps is limited by the upper part of theplates, the right-angled arms allowing the flaps to be turned intooverlapping position right down under the sole piece to allow the userto walk on the flaps, substantially as set forth.

ENGELBERT JASPER, JR. Witnesses OHAs. J. WRIGHT, ALBERT F. NUFER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

